Devils got one victory, but it's no comfort to Albany fans

New Jersey's No. 1 pick won't be coming to town

Fans watch the Albany Devils play the Rochester Americans during the second period of an AHL hockey game in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (Hans Pennink / Special to the Times Union) ORG XMIT: HP107

Fans watch the Albany Devils play the Rochester Americans during the second period of an AHL hockey game in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (Hans Pennink / Special to the Times Union) ORG XMIT: HP107

Photo: Hans Pennink

Photo: Hans Pennink

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Fans watch the Albany Devils play the Rochester Americans during the second period of an AHL hockey game in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (Hans Pennink / Special to the Times Union) ORG XMIT: HP107

Fans watch the Albany Devils play the Rochester Americans during the second period of an AHL hockey game in Albany, N.Y., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (Hans Pennink / Special to the Times Union) ORG XMIT: HP107

Photo: Hans Pennink

Devils got one victory, but it's no comfort to Albany fans

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Albany

Some good news came Saturday night to the New Jersey Devils, who won the NHL's annual draft lottery in Toronto and will have next month's first selection.

For most of the past 24 years that happiness would have carried over to the pro hockey fans of Albany, but not anymore. The Devils have disconnected themselves from the Capital Region by moving their American Hockey League franchise to Binghamton for next season.

The player who gets selected No. 1 overall wouldn't play in the AHL for a couple of years, if at all, but now there's no chance of seeing the potential superstar at Times Union Center.

"The Devils haven't won something in a long time," New Jersey general manager Ray Shero said after the draft. "This is fantastic for our fan base, our owners."

For team management, the news certainly brightened what was a somber day Sunday at Times Union Center. The Albany Devils, eliminated from the AHL playoff Friday night with a triple-overtime loss to the Toronto Marlies, held their annual exit interviews, rarely a fun time since there would be no games to play until October.

"Ray said it best," said Tom Fitzgerald, the Devils' assistant general manager who runs the Albany operation. "The organization hasn't won much in the last few years, and we won something (Saturday) night that we think can really catapult us into the direction we want to go with player personnel. It's not going to change with the culture or the way we want to run our organization, but it does add to the pool of talent, for sure, whoever that player is."

Although the NHL team hasn't made the playoffs for the past five seasons, the Albany club seemed to serve its purpose over much of that time. The A-Devils made the AHL playoffs for the third time in four seasons and had 14 players who also got time in New Jersey this season.

"From developing players, it was a real good year," seventh-year coach Rick Kowalsky said. "You look at the young goaltenders in (Mackenzie) Blackwood and (Ken) Appleby, and the opportunities they got that certainly wouldn't have been there if (Scott) Wedgewood didn't get hurt early. The biggest thing, from an organizational standpoint, was the amount of (NHL) games young guys got and went up and played significant roles. We got a real good grasp of what some of these guys can do or potentially do down the road."

The Devils finished with 83 points, their lowest total since 2012-13 and 19 points fewer than last season, but were in a weak North Division, where they still managed a third-place finish. A stretch of eight losses in nine games in March crippled their hopes of winning a division title.

"Our season overall, it's tough to compare to last year, different types of teams," Kowalsky said. "At times we needed to go on little longer runs. I thought this team could have won the division. Expectations for us were high. We liked what we saw.

"As a coach, even when you lose all those guys, I still think a couple of wins here or there, a couple of goals here or there, scoring was a struggle for us all year, but certainly through that stretch. It would have put us in a position to win our division."

A better finish would at least have gotten the Devils home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Instead, after splitting two home games with the Marlies, the Devils lost back-to-back overtime games in Toronto to lose the series, 3-1.

"If you look at the playoff series, it's tough to swallow ..." Kowalsky said. "You lose two overtime games. I certainly felt like we could have won the series."

More Information

24 years of Devils and Rats

A look back at some names and numbers from Albany's 24-year American Hockey League history:

All-time record: 851-774-271 (regular season); 51-52 (playoffs)

Total players: 501 (357 Rats, 141 Devils, 3 who played for both)

Played for River Rats and Devils: Stephen Gionta, Mark Fraser, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond